Extra $800k in earnings still doesn't mean college is always worth it

A new study from the San Francisco Federal Reserve finds that over a lifetime, the average U.S. college graduate will earn $831,000 more than a peer who never went to college. That's after factoring in the cost of college tuition and the wages lost over the four years it usually takes to finish an undergraduate degree.

So is this bit of evidence the final nail in the coffin for those who argue college might not be worth the cost? Maybe not. We talked to Steven Knapp, president of George Washington University, and William Bennett, former U.S. education secretary, on the sidelines of the Milken Institute Global Conference last week. Both presented a more nuanced view about what kind of higher education is right for students.

"We know there are a lot of mismatches that are occurring, between ... the interests [students] have, the preparation they have and the institutions they end up attending," says Knapp in the accompanying video. "And the best evidence for that is the dropout rate of students who may take out loans but don't complete their educations."

According to the Department of Education, the 2011 graduation rate for full-time undergraduate students who began working on a bachelor's degree at a four-year college/university in the fall 2005 and graduated within six years was 59%. (This excludes part-time students, as well as transfer students.)